Billy Goat
05-23-2016, 10:04
The wife and I ordered a couple 20* ghost peppers with no taper, draw cord foot box and 850fp down and an extra ounce of overstuff. When they finally arrived, I gave them a thorough going over.
First impressions, the stitching is impeccable. The argon material is a delight against the skin. Super soft and comfy, albeit a little slick but not plasticky at all. More like a fine silk. The snaps on the foot box are solid and easy to operate. The drawcord footbox also makes it easy to use in the morning as a throw blanket/shawl, or even a cape to give you a little extra warmth in the morning around camp. They are incredibly light. At 22 ounces in the included stuff sack they are less than 1/3 of the weight of our old synthetic sleeping bags. They also compress down to about 1/3 of the size. Being fairly inexperienced with down, I was slightly disappointed in the size of it in the stuff sack at first, but after loading into my pack with the rest of my gear it compressed itself to a size that both filled out the bottom of my pack without hard spots and left SO MUCH more room in my pack compared to my old synth. So, that disappointment was thoroughly put to bed, so to speak. We have not yet gotten the full opportunity to put them to the test in their exact intended environment, but we have used them a handful of times in slightly warmer climes.
The first two nights we had them we had some low temps outside but we have no trees in the yard. We opened the windows of our bedroom and got the room down to about 43*f. Warm and comfy all night but without being hot ever. I thought that maybe I might have screwed up a bit ordering the standard length. Layed out flat on a bed it came up to just barely over my shoulder. I like to be able to pull up around my ears if I get cold. I am 6'2", about 210lbs. With the drawcord foot box I think it kinda chews up a little length when drawn in, so keep that in mind. The standard width was just fine.
This past weekend I was able to get out into the woods and check them out in a hammock. Standard length was just fine in the hammock, for me. I guess I get a little shorter in my hammock! We only got down into the low 50s overnight. We had some friends in campers pointing and laughing at us telling us we were going to freeze. Ha! They were cold in their beds in their campers over night while we were toasty warm and comfy all night. I got a little warmer than I expected compared to the home bed test, but it is easy enough to vent to regulate temp. It didn't slide around or shift on me at all which was a bit of a concern, being my hammock and the quilt feels silk slippery. The down stayed in place perfectly and it was a delightful experience.
When I placed my order, the website said it was a 5-6 week lead time. It took a good deal longer than that to get them and I did utilize George's customer service. Without going into detail, he was SUPER accommodating and professional. He made it so far beyond right that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend anyone else. I have seen many other vendor's gear, and while quality and size/weight/cost is generally comparable, I think between the customer service, customization, innovation (just saw the heat pack pocket thread, NICE WORK!) and George's desire for happy customers, Locolibre will be my go to for down gear. It may take a while, but you WILL NOT be disappointed when your gear arrives.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160523/8be1bc4cee6b4f061e7b5e3b85c83d44.jpg Layed out on the floor, Titanium grey argon 90 outer shell, brilliant blue argon 67 inner.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160523/5a23e7256e19343e72e4261ac6549c36.jpgComparison between old SB at 4.25 lbs compressed brick hard, and LLG TQ loosely in stuff sack.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160523/88cde54fc7fe0aad9fefcefb01b0ce27.jpg here, I stepped on the quilt, it got to about 1/3 the size of the fully compressed synth bag and immediately started to fluff back up. It packs SO much smaller than my old bag.
Sorry for the long winded post, but I thought I would give George and his gear the most comprehensive review I could. Apart from the wait, my whole experience dealing with LocoLibreGear.com has been nothing short of spectacular.
Cheers,
the Goat
First impressions, the stitching is impeccable. The argon material is a delight against the skin. Super soft and comfy, albeit a little slick but not plasticky at all. More like a fine silk. The snaps on the foot box are solid and easy to operate. The drawcord footbox also makes it easy to use in the morning as a throw blanket/shawl, or even a cape to give you a little extra warmth in the morning around camp. They are incredibly light. At 22 ounces in the included stuff sack they are less than 1/3 of the weight of our old synthetic sleeping bags. They also compress down to about 1/3 of the size. Being fairly inexperienced with down, I was slightly disappointed in the size of it in the stuff sack at first, but after loading into my pack with the rest of my gear it compressed itself to a size that both filled out the bottom of my pack without hard spots and left SO MUCH more room in my pack compared to my old synth. So, that disappointment was thoroughly put to bed, so to speak. We have not yet gotten the full opportunity to put them to the test in their exact intended environment, but we have used them a handful of times in slightly warmer climes.
The first two nights we had them we had some low temps outside but we have no trees in the yard. We opened the windows of our bedroom and got the room down to about 43*f. Warm and comfy all night but without being hot ever. I thought that maybe I might have screwed up a bit ordering the standard length. Layed out flat on a bed it came up to just barely over my shoulder. I like to be able to pull up around my ears if I get cold. I am 6'2", about 210lbs. With the drawcord foot box I think it kinda chews up a little length when drawn in, so keep that in mind. The standard width was just fine.
This past weekend I was able to get out into the woods and check them out in a hammock. Standard length was just fine in the hammock, for me. I guess I get a little shorter in my hammock! We only got down into the low 50s overnight. We had some friends in campers pointing and laughing at us telling us we were going to freeze. Ha! They were cold in their beds in their campers over night while we were toasty warm and comfy all night. I got a little warmer than I expected compared to the home bed test, but it is easy enough to vent to regulate temp. It didn't slide around or shift on me at all which was a bit of a concern, being my hammock and the quilt feels silk slippery. The down stayed in place perfectly and it was a delightful experience.
When I placed my order, the website said it was a 5-6 week lead time. It took a good deal longer than that to get them and I did utilize George's customer service. Without going into detail, he was SUPER accommodating and professional. He made it so far beyond right that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend anyone else. I have seen many other vendor's gear, and while quality and size/weight/cost is generally comparable, I think between the customer service, customization, innovation (just saw the heat pack pocket thread, NICE WORK!) and George's desire for happy customers, Locolibre will be my go to for down gear. It may take a while, but you WILL NOT be disappointed when your gear arrives.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160523/8be1bc4cee6b4f061e7b5e3b85c83d44.jpg Layed out on the floor, Titanium grey argon 90 outer shell, brilliant blue argon 67 inner.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160523/5a23e7256e19343e72e4261ac6549c36.jpgComparison between old SB at 4.25 lbs compressed brick hard, and LLG TQ loosely in stuff sack.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160523/88cde54fc7fe0aad9fefcefb01b0ce27.jpg here, I stepped on the quilt, it got to about 1/3 the size of the fully compressed synth bag and immediately started to fluff back up. It packs SO much smaller than my old bag.
Sorry for the long winded post, but I thought I would give George and his gear the most comprehensive review I could. Apart from the wait, my whole experience dealing with LocoLibreGear.com has been nothing short of spectacular.
Cheers,
the Goat